Back in 2015, I wrote a very heavy post about different states of mind and learning forms based on my experience and with conversations with both a psychologist and a physical therapist. I used research with experience and wrote something that was more suitable for a college course paper rather than an accessible blog post. A recent black belt testing, and a few posts on social media got me thinking about mindfulness again and its importance in forms.
Mindfulness is a very deep subject. It can be taken to many levels, but for this post I'm going to stick within the bounds of what I call physical and abstract mindfulness.
Physical mindfulness, to me is understanding what it is you are trying to do in a form, in order to "sell" the form. If you do not understand what you are doing, your movements will not look genuine and you will look weak. A great example of this is when the form calls for a high kick, and the practitioner abandons good technique to try to reach the height requirement. This is an example of a lack of physical mindfulness. If the intent of practicing the form is to master the practical application of the techniques, then the practitioner must abandon kicking high to keep the integrity of the technique. I can't recall ever hearing any instructor of my own, or anyone ever saying, "that was a great low kick, but you must kick higher". If anything I have heard "that's a great high kick, now kick lower."
It is not always the inflexible or out of shape practitioner kicking too high and looking sloppy. Sometimes the young and extremely talented students kick too high as well. We all love to marvel at the physical abilities of some of our students and athletes on Youtube, but at the end of the day, being able to kick straight up in the air isn't that practical of a skill. I have never seen a TKD form from any flavor of TKD actually call for that, but even if they do, aside from "artistic" competitions (sports karate), I see very little practicality in this ability. While it should stand to reason that being able to kick straight up in the air should grant the kicker a devastating ability to kick at traditional heights, my experience is to the contrary. It takes a tremendous amount of practice and effort to kick straight up like some can. My opinion on the matter is that, that time would be better spent differently. Learning to kick at a traditional height, without telegraph and with proper technique is worth a lot more in my eyes.
It is not just the broad strokes of kicking and flexibility though. As I hinted at earlier in the post, the "what" of what you are doing is essential to the "how" of what you are doing, and is thus, very important to "sell" the form. This is true of advanced techniques and forms, but is super important in lower forms and basic technique. There is nothing more awe inspiring than a master level student executing a basic technique in a way that says "I have no idea what this is actually doing". Of course, I'm using "awe inspiring" here facetiously. It happens though. Regardless of rank, you should know what the techniques you are executing are doing. If you do not, you can't possibly look good executing them.
Abstract mindfulness has to do with what is in your actual mind while you are executing the form. I've spoken at great lengths about the importance of what is going on in your head both in a previous blog post and in my classes. During a performance of a form (be it in a test or tournament), I believe nothing should be in your head. You should be 100% focused on the form itself and you should be so familiar with the form that you don't even have to think about what you are doing. Think about the basic movements you make in your day to day life. You probably don't put too much thought into getting out of bed, walking down steps, putting on your coat, sitting in a seat, or getting into your car. The process is largely not thought about and these movements are all in a state of auto-pilot. When learning a new form, students should look at the learning process as the start to making their form operate on that same auto pilot level.
As I have said in the past though, the auto pilot level is just the beginning to really mastering a form. To be truly good at forms, you need to go a step beyond autopilot and actually be conscious of what and how you are doing, what and how you are doing. You need to focus on the form, but rather, you become so focused in on the form, that you can completely abandon the thoughts required to go movement to movement, and can instead focus on breath control, timing, power, stance depth, hip rotation, etc. After years of operating at this level of heightened auto pilot, you'll find yourself as close to mastery as possible. In this practicing style, there is no room for doubt, no room for on the spot reflection and under the breath swearing at yourself for mistakes. Only the moment is important, and dwelling on the past moment is a distraction from the current.
There is no secret to accomplishing any of this. It starts with attitude. The thoughts of practicality need to be set aside and the simple fact that to be a well rounded artist requires care and effort in forms as well as fighting. Stop caring about why when it comes to forms in general and only care about how. "How can I get better at this" should only ever be your thought, as opposed to "this isn't practical". You have to do forms regardless if you are going to stay in a traditional art, so why not make the most of it?
After this, there is effort, but effort involves a lot more than a sweaty uniform. Think! Think about what you are doing when you are practicing. See the techniques hitting someone, stopping something. Feel it, in your head. Don't just go through the movements, because it doesn't take a black belt or a high rank to do that. The real work is done in your head. Simply put, the form isn't teaching you how to kick and punch in a practical situation, but it is teaching you how you should be focused in a real world situation. When your body moves on auto pilot, and you can actually control your thoughts in those moments, you'll be able to focus on your well being and defending yourself from attack. This is the true power of mindfulness.
Finally, set aside your ego. Take the time to understand what you are doing and ask questions! Too many students seem afraid to ask questions, and I'm not saying that as an instructor but as a student who was often times the only person ever asking questions. Whether you are learning for free, or spending a fortune, you've set off to learn something, so swallow your pride and ask questions when you don't understand something. This is especially important when you are corrected and don't understand why. As long as it is asked with respect, I don't know an instructor worth their salt that wouldn't love to answer any question you might throw at them. Instructors, after all, do not like just going through the movements either.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Extended Break
So it's been a while again hasn't it my fine readers? Things have been crazy on my end. I got a promotion at work and returned to full time employment. I also had arthroscopic hip surgery to correct a condition that has affected me since 2005.
Just last week I was cleared to kick again since September. Even though I am allowed to kick, it is only until it starts to hurt, which is usually after the 4th or 5th kick or semi deep stance. My recovery will be long, lasting well into January and although physical therapy is going well, I'm growing antsy.
Now that my life is returning to a semblance of normalcy, I think I am ready to start thinking about the deeper side of Tae Kwon-Do.
Hopefully I can continue the momentum and continue to write things that at least 2-3 people really enjoy!
Just last week I was cleared to kick again since September. Even though I am allowed to kick, it is only until it starts to hurt, which is usually after the 4th or 5th kick or semi deep stance. My recovery will be long, lasting well into January and although physical therapy is going well, I'm growing antsy.
Now that my life is returning to a semblance of normalcy, I think I am ready to start thinking about the deeper side of Tae Kwon-Do.
Hopefully I can continue the momentum and continue to write things that at least 2-3 people really enjoy!
Monday, July 17, 2017
Back to Basics: Having Fun
After my sixth dan test, I fell into a lull and contracted a bit of "whatsnextitis". The lack of new forms to learn, and no more built in carrots to grab because we have no more physical testing past 6th left me feeling very empty. I carried this for months until just recently and let myself go a bit. I'm not all about the rank or anything, (as I am not officially a sixth dan yet, and won't be for a few months), but I lost the love for competition long ago, and proving myself to myself at a test became an easy goal to drive my motivation to improve.
During the Chin Mu Kwan national test and tournament, I had the honor of co-teaching a morning workout / warmup. While an old friend and mentor was doing his portion, he had the group of students do Dan-Gun a bunch of times, each time working on a different aspect of forms execution. His last rep though he called for the group to do the form for fun. A bit of a lightbulb went off inside my head, and I realized that for a very long time, I had forgotten how fun Taekwon-do is...just to do. I had been spending so much time and energy analyzing TKD that I forgot to have fun along the way.
I once knew what having fun meant in regards to Taekwon-do. For me, it started with Friday night sparring classes with the legendary black belts of the past when I was a red belt. It was doing forms in my yard, sometimes barefoot in the snow, because why? Because Taekwon-do, that's why. It was visiting other schools or hosting people from other schools, long late night discussions about how awesome this master's form was, or that master's fighting. It was laughing at the absurdity of the arts, and marveling at their beauty with good friends. It was board breaking, or brick breaking, sometimes in the parking lot, um...without your instructor's knowledge. It was tough competition, and having people around you to push you to your limits and holding you there and sometimes it was absolutely insane multi hour training sessions with your best TKD friends, crashing on their couch, and waking up the next day to do it all again!
I went to nationals, an event I don't usually attend (mainly because of the cost of travel) because my instructor was being promoted to ninth dan by our grand master. I expected to just be helpful in whatever way I could, thinking, I'll teach a class, judge the low rank testing, ref at the tournament and then witness history and go home. Instead, I had a "ghost of Christmas past" kind of experience by hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. I got in touch with a part of me that had been lying dormant for so long, but was starting to stir. Tonight though, I realized what it was.
I'll never stop being analytical, I'm too into that aspect of the art, and in a lot of ways that too is fun for me. I have a million ideas sloshing around in my brain, books that I want to write, podcasts that I want to record and videos I'd love to make. Hopefully by having some fun again, the motivation to reach for these goals will follow. I started to think about what forms I find the most fun just to do and decided to share my list of my favorite forms and why I rank them this way. If you know me on Facebook, I'd love to discuss with you, even if you don't know all of the forms on my list - because, well, talking forms is the natural extension of thinking about forms - which I am usually doing all the time anyway. Plus people love lists! They say they don't, but they always read them :) So here we go!
10. Moon-Moo - This form is awesome and shows the sheer power and magnitude of what TKD can do. It is by far and away the hardest of all the TKD forms (including Juche, sorry ITFers) and for that reason it needs to be on this list. I'm ranking this at the bottom though, because only the extremely gifted can do this form the way it is meant to be done. It needs to be on here, but it is not in any way what I would call an accessible form.
9. Ko-Dang - I love Ko-Dang because the form spends a lot of its time going backwards. For us, this form falls in the testing to attain master, and I think it silently and subtly tells you something about yourself in that regard. It is a challenging and unique form, that is the perfect length. When I finish Ko-Dang, I know I did a form, but I don't feel like I ran a marathon (I'm looking at you So-San).
8. Se-Jong - 24 distinct movements, named after one of, if not the greatest Korean king. It is a very unique form, and I find the architecture of the form so fascinating. The back half of the form, from the round kick to the end are some of the coolest technique strings we do in all of the 24 forms.
7. So-San - Sometimes you just want to climb the tallest mountain, or run a marathon. For this, there is So-San. An upper body technician's dream, So-San is long and dynamic. One of the many lessons learned here is that you don't have to be crazy physically improbable (I'm looking at you Moon-Moo) to be extremely challenging. One of the greatest forms to demonstrate the raw power of TKD, So-San is 72 movements of non-fluff, basic techniques that demand to be done strong from start to finish. It comes with the added bonus, that save for Moon-Moo, you'll never think any of the other 23 forms are too long after you learn So-San.
6. Yoo-Sin - I could gush all day about Yoo-Sin. A real, tradional feeling form that borrows generously from several Japanese forms, Yoo-Sin is chock full of nuance and great TKD techniques. It is an amazing tournament form when practiced by someone who really cares to master the form and is a hallmark of what a good TKD form should look like.
5. Sam-Il - I love Sam-Il, and have since I learned it. Another very dynamic form, it has what I call flashes of brilliance (sequences like the U blocks and the waving kick, and the standing in place side kicks) but has some repetition that really doesn't make that much sense (mainly in the middle portion of the form). I still think very highly of this form, but feel like for a few movements, they architects were phoning it in.
4. Gae-Baek - For a very, very long time, this was my favorite form. One of the most, if not the most dynamic of all the TKD forms. The variation of techniques, the lack of repetition and the turning in place aspect of the form give it a feel (when doing it) that you are actually fighting (especially, if you know what all the moves are, or could be doing). A absolutely incredible tournament form, Gae-Baek is one everyone should look out for once they hit black belt.
3. Tong-Il - there is a bit of mysticism surrounding the last form on the board, especially when that form is universally the last form. While many Chang-Hon practicing orgs will often times tweak the order of the 24 they are doing, I can't say that I have ever seen Tong-Il not be the last the form. The form is incredibly well crafted, and features several movements that have their own meaning inside the greater context of the meaning of the form (See Stuart Anslow's book, From Creation to Unification to learn more). Tong-Il features slow movements mixed with fast movements and really has a very unique feel to it. It's a very fun form to do.
2. Chon-Ji - Simply stated, no single form has taught me more about Taekwon-Do than this one. Its simplistic moves give insight to the foundational skills that hold all of TKD together. After 23 some odd years, and with 6 degrees of black belt, I am still learning things about myself when I practice this form. If you aren't - might I suggest you do Chon-Ji some more?
1. Yon-Gae - I love this form. There is something so fun about executing a flying knife hand strike in the air, with the timing at the height of your jump as opposed to on a landing. The opening sequence of this beautiful form makes me feel like one of the legendary fighters in a Shaw Brother's film (I may have practiced this form once or twice, or maybe more than that while making Saturday morning Kung Fu movie sounds). The form which in my mind has two very distinct parts show a Yin and Yang nature of the art, featuring slow and methodically strong movements, through the hook kicks, giving way to fast and frantic turns, blocks, and strikes culminating with a double jump back side kick, one on each side! It is an amazing crescendo ending that really makes this form great.
What are your favorite forms? Drop some words in the comments, or hit me up on Facebook.
During the Chin Mu Kwan national test and tournament, I had the honor of co-teaching a morning workout / warmup. While an old friend and mentor was doing his portion, he had the group of students do Dan-Gun a bunch of times, each time working on a different aspect of forms execution. His last rep though he called for the group to do the form for fun. A bit of a lightbulb went off inside my head, and I realized that for a very long time, I had forgotten how fun Taekwon-do is...just to do. I had been spending so much time and energy analyzing TKD that I forgot to have fun along the way.
I once knew what having fun meant in regards to Taekwon-do. For me, it started with Friday night sparring classes with the legendary black belts of the past when I was a red belt. It was doing forms in my yard, sometimes barefoot in the snow, because why? Because Taekwon-do, that's why. It was visiting other schools or hosting people from other schools, long late night discussions about how awesome this master's form was, or that master's fighting. It was laughing at the absurdity of the arts, and marveling at their beauty with good friends. It was board breaking, or brick breaking, sometimes in the parking lot, um...without your instructor's knowledge. It was tough competition, and having people around you to push you to your limits and holding you there and sometimes it was absolutely insane multi hour training sessions with your best TKD friends, crashing on their couch, and waking up the next day to do it all again!
I went to nationals, an event I don't usually attend (mainly because of the cost of travel) because my instructor was being promoted to ninth dan by our grand master. I expected to just be helpful in whatever way I could, thinking, I'll teach a class, judge the low rank testing, ref at the tournament and then witness history and go home. Instead, I had a "ghost of Christmas past" kind of experience by hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. I got in touch with a part of me that had been lying dormant for so long, but was starting to stir. Tonight though, I realized what it was.
I'll never stop being analytical, I'm too into that aspect of the art, and in a lot of ways that too is fun for me. I have a million ideas sloshing around in my brain, books that I want to write, podcasts that I want to record and videos I'd love to make. Hopefully by having some fun again, the motivation to reach for these goals will follow. I started to think about what forms I find the most fun just to do and decided to share my list of my favorite forms and why I rank them this way. If you know me on Facebook, I'd love to discuss with you, even if you don't know all of the forms on my list - because, well, talking forms is the natural extension of thinking about forms - which I am usually doing all the time anyway. Plus people love lists! They say they don't, but they always read them :) So here we go!
10. Moon-Moo - This form is awesome and shows the sheer power and magnitude of what TKD can do. It is by far and away the hardest of all the TKD forms (including Juche, sorry ITFers) and for that reason it needs to be on this list. I'm ranking this at the bottom though, because only the extremely gifted can do this form the way it is meant to be done. It needs to be on here, but it is not in any way what I would call an accessible form.
9. Ko-Dang - I love Ko-Dang because the form spends a lot of its time going backwards. For us, this form falls in the testing to attain master, and I think it silently and subtly tells you something about yourself in that regard. It is a challenging and unique form, that is the perfect length. When I finish Ko-Dang, I know I did a form, but I don't feel like I ran a marathon (I'm looking at you So-San).
8. Se-Jong - 24 distinct movements, named after one of, if not the greatest Korean king. It is a very unique form, and I find the architecture of the form so fascinating. The back half of the form, from the round kick to the end are some of the coolest technique strings we do in all of the 24 forms.
7. So-San - Sometimes you just want to climb the tallest mountain, or run a marathon. For this, there is So-San. An upper body technician's dream, So-San is long and dynamic. One of the many lessons learned here is that you don't have to be crazy physically improbable (I'm looking at you Moon-Moo) to be extremely challenging. One of the greatest forms to demonstrate the raw power of TKD, So-San is 72 movements of non-fluff, basic techniques that demand to be done strong from start to finish. It comes with the added bonus, that save for Moon-Moo, you'll never think any of the other 23 forms are too long after you learn So-San.
6. Yoo-Sin - I could gush all day about Yoo-Sin. A real, tradional feeling form that borrows generously from several Japanese forms, Yoo-Sin is chock full of nuance and great TKD techniques. It is an amazing tournament form when practiced by someone who really cares to master the form and is a hallmark of what a good TKD form should look like.
5. Sam-Il - I love Sam-Il, and have since I learned it. Another very dynamic form, it has what I call flashes of brilliance (sequences like the U blocks and the waving kick, and the standing in place side kicks) but has some repetition that really doesn't make that much sense (mainly in the middle portion of the form). I still think very highly of this form, but feel like for a few movements, they architects were phoning it in.
4. Gae-Baek - For a very, very long time, this was my favorite form. One of the most, if not the most dynamic of all the TKD forms. The variation of techniques, the lack of repetition and the turning in place aspect of the form give it a feel (when doing it) that you are actually fighting (especially, if you know what all the moves are, or could be doing). A absolutely incredible tournament form, Gae-Baek is one everyone should look out for once they hit black belt.
3. Tong-Il - there is a bit of mysticism surrounding the last form on the board, especially when that form is universally the last form. While many Chang-Hon practicing orgs will often times tweak the order of the 24 they are doing, I can't say that I have ever seen Tong-Il not be the last the form. The form is incredibly well crafted, and features several movements that have their own meaning inside the greater context of the meaning of the form (See Stuart Anslow's book, From Creation to Unification to learn more). Tong-Il features slow movements mixed with fast movements and really has a very unique feel to it. It's a very fun form to do.
2. Chon-Ji - Simply stated, no single form has taught me more about Taekwon-Do than this one. Its simplistic moves give insight to the foundational skills that hold all of TKD together. After 23 some odd years, and with 6 degrees of black belt, I am still learning things about myself when I practice this form. If you aren't - might I suggest you do Chon-Ji some more?
1. Yon-Gae - I love this form. There is something so fun about executing a flying knife hand strike in the air, with the timing at the height of your jump as opposed to on a landing. The opening sequence of this beautiful form makes me feel like one of the legendary fighters in a Shaw Brother's film (I may have practiced this form once or twice, or maybe more than that while making Saturday morning Kung Fu movie sounds). The form which in my mind has two very distinct parts show a Yin and Yang nature of the art, featuring slow and methodically strong movements, through the hook kicks, giving way to fast and frantic turns, blocks, and strikes culminating with a double jump back side kick, one on each side! It is an amazing crescendo ending that really makes this form great.
What are your favorite forms? Drop some words in the comments, or hit me up on Facebook.
Monday, June 19, 2017
Yoo-Sin - A training guide
Yoo-Sin is the Mt. Everest for the black belt looking to transition to higher Dan and in our organization to the Master rank. It is a popular form and like Ko-Dang for us, is a form that is quite easy to learn, but can be extremely difficult to master. Before I go any further, as one of my favorite forms, I probably take some liberties in this form and will thus write those down here. Yoo-Sin more than many forms is a great form to show that you understand what should be happening as well as what is happening. The CTF does an older version of this form, not conforming with many of the videos you see on youtube. Just keep that in mind as you read this. Let's dive in!
The opening movement of the form is a drop slide left into a straddle stance and executing a twin rising elbow strike to either side. I want to put a question mark at the end of that sentence because although that is how I was taught to execute the technique, I can't find any written examples to corroborate this. Most videos show people simply raising their arms. Your mileage may vary on this one, so check with your instructor / org on how to properly execute this.
The next two moves feature a unique movement. Depending on who your instructor was, and how he interprets these moves, you either throw two elbows, or two punches behind your head. What I'd like to focus on here is the footwork as I have seen all matter of movement here and I am strongly opinionated on how this should be done. Since you are already in a straddle stance, you slide, slightly in the direct of each punch. YOU DO NOT TAKE YOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND AND STEP and staying still while you execute the hand techniques is flat out. Phew!
Next I execute the single knife hand block, while rising in my stance (sometimes up to the balls of my feet, sometimes not - depends on the audience / venue). Dropping back into a deep stance with the punch. This is a great place to show some good contrast! The slow deliberate knife hand should naturally accentuate any straight punch for which the faster the punch the better. A key here is to have proper reaction force. Another place many students go sideways is they throw that block and leave the other hand on the hip waiting for the punch. Not only does this look silly, it defies the theory of power - bottom line, there is no reason not to have a reaction force hand on the single knife hand (and I don't care what anyone's books or even instructors say about that).
Another nuance is the outer forearm block. The 45 degree stance is a challenge for people for a long time here. This is going to have strong ramifications for the ending of your form, so making sure you hit the perfect 45 is key. Timing is also important here. This is a step out, outer forearm block. Get your hips involved (nuance) and land with perfect timing here - or you will look bad. Make sure you turn your head and see the 45 for your circular block. Now the cadence changes slightly.
Adjust to straddle is a subtle movement, your foot travels only a few inches, but your hand on your hip needs to come off and execute a proper scooping block. It has to travel WAY farther than your foot, so you really have to start moving the hand before you even think of moving your feet to hit the timing here. Be careful not to end up with a "magic block" (if you recall, a magic block is one that doesn't really have a flight path, it just appears where it is supposed to end). It is very easy to magic block that scoop. The punch that follows should feature good hip motion. Don't throw your punches only with your bicep. If you do, it won't have the speed or power to match the good scoop you just threw. After stepping correctly foot to foot, this section repeats on the other side. Symmetry is the key here.
The cadence should change here again, and smooth reverse knife hand blocks in a 45 degree facing front stance yield to fast shift to straddle middle punch. This repeats, again, symmetry is so important. You want to look as able bodied on one side as you do the other.
Nuance takes a bit of a back seat for a few movements. Of course we have the X-block grasp and pull into the punch, but technical accuracy is what is going to win you the day here. You aren't moving, so although this is one of the more complicated moves you'll do, since you aren't moving just be technically sound in execution and you will look your best. Landing with a reverse punch off of a front kick is probably the most awkward thing you'll do in this segment. Body control is the key, control the kick, re-chamber high and land with power.
Continuing forward, just keep the cadence smooth and execute the following techniques with proper power and timing and the form will be looking good, although beyond the halfway point the step forward to C ready stance facing down the back line feels like a natural halfway point to me and marks the return of the nuance of this form.
We come out of ready C with a symmetrical double upset punch. It is important to not rush this because it is the same thing on both sides and they are relatively easy moves to execute. Many students rush this and the next sequence of inner blocks / reverse punch into the step up and slow horizontal punch (or forearm strike, depending on how you look at it) in natural stance.
The nuance here is to kind of "milk" it for that slow move. That's your chance to catch your breath before the fast paced ending. Not that you can actually "rest" mind you, but if there is a place to re-center and gather your wits about you, it is right here.
Like the other symmetrical movements. The U shaped punches follow the same advice, slow, steady, complete the techniques, let them live a full life.
Sliding into the straddle stance and executing the inward outer forearm block, is a simple enough move, stance definition tends to be a student's undoing here, particularly turning the toes to be parallel.
Waving kicks and the associated blocks can be a real challenge here. These are quick, low movements - too much emphasis on them and not enough emphasis on the upper body movements, or vice versa tends to be where many students go wrong. This (not the crescent/sides that follow) are the hardest part of this form to really get right. The first waving kick ends on the first chamber of the protected outer forearm block. The second wave ends and lands with the timing of the protected inward outer forearm block and that flows right into the first side hand strike. The timing is so essential here.
Crescent kick side kick is a matter of body control, and is ultimately a physical challenge. The big tells on if someone did their homework is, do they lower their hand for the crescent kick in mid kick, and like everything else, don't sacrifice technique for bad height on your side kicks. Your body control is tested a bit more here as you have to land in a straddle stance.
An important nuance is landing that last side kick and dropping the 9 shaped block. You don't want to "fall" into the 9. Control the rechamber and set your foot down. Take your time through this sequence and know how to throw a 9 correctly and all will be fine here. Turn the foot first and throw the downward hammer fist to come to the final piece of advice I have.
Many people know the ending of this form is right out of the Japanese sets and you may feel the desire to throw your knifehand blocks Japanese instead of Korean (assuming you watch a lot of forms videos and know the difference.) It is important to remember that you are not a Japanese practitioner and probably can't do it as good as them, so stick to what you know.
That's it, a very nuanced form, one of the best and a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy!
The opening movement of the form is a drop slide left into a straddle stance and executing a twin rising elbow strike to either side. I want to put a question mark at the end of that sentence because although that is how I was taught to execute the technique, I can't find any written examples to corroborate this. Most videos show people simply raising their arms. Your mileage may vary on this one, so check with your instructor / org on how to properly execute this.
The next two moves feature a unique movement. Depending on who your instructor was, and how he interprets these moves, you either throw two elbows, or two punches behind your head. What I'd like to focus on here is the footwork as I have seen all matter of movement here and I am strongly opinionated on how this should be done. Since you are already in a straddle stance, you slide, slightly in the direct of each punch. YOU DO NOT TAKE YOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND AND STEP and staying still while you execute the hand techniques is flat out. Phew!
Next I execute the single knife hand block, while rising in my stance (sometimes up to the balls of my feet, sometimes not - depends on the audience / venue). Dropping back into a deep stance with the punch. This is a great place to show some good contrast! The slow deliberate knife hand should naturally accentuate any straight punch for which the faster the punch the better. A key here is to have proper reaction force. Another place many students go sideways is they throw that block and leave the other hand on the hip waiting for the punch. Not only does this look silly, it defies the theory of power - bottom line, there is no reason not to have a reaction force hand on the single knife hand (and I don't care what anyone's books or even instructors say about that).
Another nuance is the outer forearm block. The 45 degree stance is a challenge for people for a long time here. This is going to have strong ramifications for the ending of your form, so making sure you hit the perfect 45 is key. Timing is also important here. This is a step out, outer forearm block. Get your hips involved (nuance) and land with perfect timing here - or you will look bad. Make sure you turn your head and see the 45 for your circular block. Now the cadence changes slightly.
Adjust to straddle is a subtle movement, your foot travels only a few inches, but your hand on your hip needs to come off and execute a proper scooping block. It has to travel WAY farther than your foot, so you really have to start moving the hand before you even think of moving your feet to hit the timing here. Be careful not to end up with a "magic block" (if you recall, a magic block is one that doesn't really have a flight path, it just appears where it is supposed to end). It is very easy to magic block that scoop. The punch that follows should feature good hip motion. Don't throw your punches only with your bicep. If you do, it won't have the speed or power to match the good scoop you just threw. After stepping correctly foot to foot, this section repeats on the other side. Symmetry is the key here.
The cadence should change here again, and smooth reverse knife hand blocks in a 45 degree facing front stance yield to fast shift to straddle middle punch. This repeats, again, symmetry is so important. You want to look as able bodied on one side as you do the other.
Nuance takes a bit of a back seat for a few movements. Of course we have the X-block grasp and pull into the punch, but technical accuracy is what is going to win you the day here. You aren't moving, so although this is one of the more complicated moves you'll do, since you aren't moving just be technically sound in execution and you will look your best. Landing with a reverse punch off of a front kick is probably the most awkward thing you'll do in this segment. Body control is the key, control the kick, re-chamber high and land with power.
Continuing forward, just keep the cadence smooth and execute the following techniques with proper power and timing and the form will be looking good, although beyond the halfway point the step forward to C ready stance facing down the back line feels like a natural halfway point to me and marks the return of the nuance of this form.
We come out of ready C with a symmetrical double upset punch. It is important to not rush this because it is the same thing on both sides and they are relatively easy moves to execute. Many students rush this and the next sequence of inner blocks / reverse punch into the step up and slow horizontal punch (or forearm strike, depending on how you look at it) in natural stance.
The nuance here is to kind of "milk" it for that slow move. That's your chance to catch your breath before the fast paced ending. Not that you can actually "rest" mind you, but if there is a place to re-center and gather your wits about you, it is right here.
Like the other symmetrical movements. The U shaped punches follow the same advice, slow, steady, complete the techniques, let them live a full life.
Sliding into the straddle stance and executing the inward outer forearm block, is a simple enough move, stance definition tends to be a student's undoing here, particularly turning the toes to be parallel.
Waving kicks and the associated blocks can be a real challenge here. These are quick, low movements - too much emphasis on them and not enough emphasis on the upper body movements, or vice versa tends to be where many students go wrong. This (not the crescent/sides that follow) are the hardest part of this form to really get right. The first waving kick ends on the first chamber of the protected outer forearm block. The second wave ends and lands with the timing of the protected inward outer forearm block and that flows right into the first side hand strike. The timing is so essential here.
Crescent kick side kick is a matter of body control, and is ultimately a physical challenge. The big tells on if someone did their homework is, do they lower their hand for the crescent kick in mid kick, and like everything else, don't sacrifice technique for bad height on your side kicks. Your body control is tested a bit more here as you have to land in a straddle stance.
An important nuance is landing that last side kick and dropping the 9 shaped block. You don't want to "fall" into the 9. Control the rechamber and set your foot down. Take your time through this sequence and know how to throw a 9 correctly and all will be fine here. Turn the foot first and throw the downward hammer fist to come to the final piece of advice I have.
Many people know the ending of this form is right out of the Japanese sets and you may feel the desire to throw your knifehand blocks Japanese instead of Korean (assuming you watch a lot of forms videos and know the difference.) It is important to remember that you are not a Japanese practitioner and probably can't do it as good as them, so stick to what you know.
That's it, a very nuanced form, one of the best and a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Training Guide for Sam-Il
Sam-Il is a dynamic form and is one of my favorite Chang-Hon forms. I like the duality of the form, which starts as an "advanced basic" romp through the first 10-15 techniques, and then adds sequences that are some of the most challenging in that rank's test cycle (for us, that is Yoo-Sin, Sam-Il and Ko-Dang).
The forms opens with a series of single techniques in single stances, though there are a few shift-stance changes, this is nothing new by the time you are third dan testing for fourth. It's not until the 12th move of the form that we see something interesting, and very very unique. The 13th move of Sam-Il is a step forward reverse punch. Though we use reverse techniques moving forward frequently in the Chang-Hon set - in all 24 forms, this is the only step forward reverse punch at least that I can think of.
To this point, the things to focus on are the simple things. Timing, stance definition, technique execution; there's nothing seriously complex going on here, so consider this a warm up for what is to come and hit the "easy" moves out of the park.
After a few more single stance single technique moves we get to a sequence of movements that actually featured in a video game (27 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuhL3Jz066E. I'm referring to U-shaped block, into waving kick, into U-shaped block into jump spin knife hand block, This is a tricky sequence, mainly because U-shaped block can be a bit of an awkward technique, and many students don't know the correct hand positions making it look as awkward as it feels. This leads into what we call a waving kick but that Blue Cottage calls a sweeping kick (which is a much better name in my opinion). I find that this technique tends to be thrown all over the place because we simply don't do much sweeping in TKD. Many students show this technique poorly because as a course, we rarely kick low on purpose in our forms and almost never kick low on purpose in sparring.
When I teach a waving kick, I remind my students of the old adage that the higher the knee, the higher the kick, so the first trick to throwing a terrific waving kick is to keep the knee low! I bring my knee around like I was throwing an inside crescent kick, but instead of carrying the knee through my center line, I stop just short of the center line and complete the kick by whipping my lower leg forward, low to the ground (targeting the ankle). In application, this is a closer quarters kick, so you aren't going to have the clearance necessarily to throw the knee through the center line. The idea here is to hit the outside of the front foot and cause your opponents front foot to go out. It can also be used to block a low section kick as well.
Coming off the sequence is a stand up straight front leg side kick. Many people try to fire this side kick too close to landing from the jump spin knife hand block and end up botching their kick. Take your time off that landing, collect your center of gravity and lift the front knee high when executing the side kick. If you rush this sequence, it will show, and it will show poorly.
Kicking too high is another problem here as you will be landing foot to foot and moving the opposite direction. You need body control to land foot to foot and step with the right center of gravity to allow power on the next technique (a nuance that is lost on many people, in many forms).
Following the upper elbow (or front elbow), you step into diagonal stance. Now, getting on my soap box, diagonal stance is a SUBTLE stance. It is one foot being SLIGHTLY forward of the other in what would be an ordinary straddle or horse stance. It's to the point where if I can clearly see that one foot is in front of the other, you did it wrong. I tell my students that a good diagonal stance is one foot being one half a foot's length in front of the other. Very subtle. Do not over step to "accentuate" the diagonal stance, because all you do is look like you are horrible at probably the first stance you ever learned.
Stepping down off of my soap box and continuing we see the diagonal stance elbow transition to the X-block low in a front stance setting up for a big W-shape block moving forward. Your stance is perfectly set to execute a good W block and the key to making this look good is really understanding the execution of this block. Just remember, the arm going forward here is an inward thrown, outer forearm block. The block moving to block behind you is a standard inner forearm block thrown at the same time. If everything stops at the same time, and your chamber was correct, you probably threw a good W block (be sure to twist the wrists, if you don't have to, you probably aren't chambering correctly).
Again we have a front leg side kick, made a little tougher because you should be holding the W while your chamber and kick. Again, lift the knee, kick with body control ( a good kick mid beats a crappy kick high every day).
The next couple of moves (low knife hand block, scoop in cat stance, twin downward pressing blocks, double upset punch) are all about stance definition. You go from long to short stances back to a long front stance with double upset punches. The key here is to hit your stances, which if struggling, usually means your speed is too high. Slow down and show good power in this sequence and you'll be ok.
The down block in a back stance to horizontal punch with the right hand over shoulder should be executed fast, but be careful not drag that speed up into the inward outer forearm block and punch, making it sloppy.
The end of the form completes in single stance, single technique fashion.
This form has some pretty drastic cadence changes, things you will see in the next set in a much more complicated manner. Getting used to this here will go a long way to helping you nail the next set of forms.
The forms opens with a series of single techniques in single stances, though there are a few shift-stance changes, this is nothing new by the time you are third dan testing for fourth. It's not until the 12th move of the form that we see something interesting, and very very unique. The 13th move of Sam-Il is a step forward reverse punch. Though we use reverse techniques moving forward frequently in the Chang-Hon set - in all 24 forms, this is the only step forward reverse punch at least that I can think of.
To this point, the things to focus on are the simple things. Timing, stance definition, technique execution; there's nothing seriously complex going on here, so consider this a warm up for what is to come and hit the "easy" moves out of the park.
After a few more single stance single technique moves we get to a sequence of movements that actually featured in a video game (27 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuhL3Jz066E. I'm referring to U-shaped block, into waving kick, into U-shaped block into jump spin knife hand block, This is a tricky sequence, mainly because U-shaped block can be a bit of an awkward technique, and many students don't know the correct hand positions making it look as awkward as it feels. This leads into what we call a waving kick but that Blue Cottage calls a sweeping kick (which is a much better name in my opinion). I find that this technique tends to be thrown all over the place because we simply don't do much sweeping in TKD. Many students show this technique poorly because as a course, we rarely kick low on purpose in our forms and almost never kick low on purpose in sparring.
When I teach a waving kick, I remind my students of the old adage that the higher the knee, the higher the kick, so the first trick to throwing a terrific waving kick is to keep the knee low! I bring my knee around like I was throwing an inside crescent kick, but instead of carrying the knee through my center line, I stop just short of the center line and complete the kick by whipping my lower leg forward, low to the ground (targeting the ankle). In application, this is a closer quarters kick, so you aren't going to have the clearance necessarily to throw the knee through the center line. The idea here is to hit the outside of the front foot and cause your opponents front foot to go out. It can also be used to block a low section kick as well.
Coming off the sequence is a stand up straight front leg side kick. Many people try to fire this side kick too close to landing from the jump spin knife hand block and end up botching their kick. Take your time off that landing, collect your center of gravity and lift the front knee high when executing the side kick. If you rush this sequence, it will show, and it will show poorly.
Kicking too high is another problem here as you will be landing foot to foot and moving the opposite direction. You need body control to land foot to foot and step with the right center of gravity to allow power on the next technique (a nuance that is lost on many people, in many forms).
Following the upper elbow (or front elbow), you step into diagonal stance. Now, getting on my soap box, diagonal stance is a SUBTLE stance. It is one foot being SLIGHTLY forward of the other in what would be an ordinary straddle or horse stance. It's to the point where if I can clearly see that one foot is in front of the other, you did it wrong. I tell my students that a good diagonal stance is one foot being one half a foot's length in front of the other. Very subtle. Do not over step to "accentuate" the diagonal stance, because all you do is look like you are horrible at probably the first stance you ever learned.
Stepping down off of my soap box and continuing we see the diagonal stance elbow transition to the X-block low in a front stance setting up for a big W-shape block moving forward. Your stance is perfectly set to execute a good W block and the key to making this look good is really understanding the execution of this block. Just remember, the arm going forward here is an inward thrown, outer forearm block. The block moving to block behind you is a standard inner forearm block thrown at the same time. If everything stops at the same time, and your chamber was correct, you probably threw a good W block (be sure to twist the wrists, if you don't have to, you probably aren't chambering correctly).
Again we have a front leg side kick, made a little tougher because you should be holding the W while your chamber and kick. Again, lift the knee, kick with body control ( a good kick mid beats a crappy kick high every day).
The next couple of moves (low knife hand block, scoop in cat stance, twin downward pressing blocks, double upset punch) are all about stance definition. You go from long to short stances back to a long front stance with double upset punches. The key here is to hit your stances, which if struggling, usually means your speed is too high. Slow down and show good power in this sequence and you'll be ok.
The down block in a back stance to horizontal punch with the right hand over shoulder should be executed fast, but be careful not drag that speed up into the inward outer forearm block and punch, making it sloppy.
The end of the form completes in single stance, single technique fashion.
This form has some pretty drastic cadence changes, things you will see in the next set in a much more complicated manner. Getting used to this here will go a long way to helping you nail the next set of forms.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Ko-Dang
Ko-Dang is an interesting form. Like the other forms we do for 4th dan (Yoo-Sin and Sam-Il), it features a layer of nuance to technique execution that prepares you for the very complicated nuances of the later forms. As such, you'll find Ko-Dang is easy to learn, but difficult to master. While some would argue that the same could be said about all of the forms, I'd disagree. Some of the even more advanced forms I find do not have the complexity of execution required to master the way Ko-Dang does.
Ko-Dang's opening movements are eclectic. You start with a backwards step to a 45 degree angle and execute a tension palm hand. Two things that can be challenging to do correctly by themselves, and together usually pose a difficult challenge. Then you speed up and execute the next two moves quickly (shift to fighting stance, then inner forearm block / down block simultaneously).
Care needs to be taken here to find the correct cadence. I find that the theme to this form is body control, both subtle body control and gross body control. This is an example of subtle body control because the step backwards and slow tension palm can be difficult to show proper timing on, and then the speed up usually leads to a sloppy execution for the inexperienced. A special note of attention needs to be placed on the 45 degree angle as well. Over step and your shift to the back stance won't travel very far and will look unnecessary, however having too short of an angle will make you look like your straddle stance early is facing front, which would be incorrect.
The next segment of the form sees you perform some one legged stances, side kicks to the 180 degree behind you with a landing and a block opposite of the kick on the opposite 180 degree center line (if you know the form you'll get this). This is clearly where gross body control is going to be key. You need to come up to the one leg stance and find stillness with your double down blocks. You need to execute the backwards side kick, with good body control, because the landing has you executing a single knife hand block in front of you.
Students will botch this time and time again, they will bleed the one leg stance and the kick together, they will then improperly rechamber the side kick or lose balance and execute what I call a "magic block" (a block that is not actually thrown but just appears where it is supposed to be.) Yes the concept of fighting an imaginary opponent is important, but not at the cost of turning your form into slop, and the bottom line is that if you rush this segment, you will likely not execute with the proper amount of power required for what is essentially basic technique performed with complexity. Take your time, execute one move at a time, with stillness of technique the focus point and you'll make this look good. Also, for the love of god, don't try to kick higher than you can kick here. You are already on one leg, so you have no momentum to help you rise the kick. Just throw good, side kicks mid, to low if you have to, so you have the proper body control and it will look good, even without world championship 20 year old flexibility.
Next we have two downward elbow blocks. It is important to remember that all techniques in TKD are supposed to have a reaction force hand. You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) how many people just use one hand and keep the other glued to the hip on this.
The form gets a bit easier for now. There's a series of pressing blocks, a series of downward forearm blocks and a series of cat stance scooping blocks. These are all individual techniques and the only real challenge is stance length when you step backwards as this could affect your ending position.
From here you come into another sequence of multiple hand movements and stance shifts. Starting with a front kick from a cat stance and landing in a front stance with twin inside knife hand strikes, you then chamber for single knife hand high block, then shift to back stance for knife hand block low section finishing with a shift to downward punch returning to a front stance.
Again, it is important to note that although these sections are to be done quickly, speed should not trump stance definition, timing, and stillness of technique. Also, the downward punch is a source of much confusion. The way I learned it, your torso should lean forward slightly and the punch goes straight down. Some people will bend all the way over, where their torso is parallel to the ground. I find this ridiculous, for many reasons, but your school or style may have a plausible reason for that so do check in with your instructor on that.
The next move is (I believe) a middle knuckle upset punch. I never remember if it is middle knuckle or not. I perform it so, but it might just be upset punch. I know I could have looked that up, and stated it as fact, but I opted with an authentic write up, instead of a curated one.
As stated by many of the posters in The Study of Tae Kwon Do, the last two kicks are meant to be blocks. I think of them as a cross between an outside crescent kick (at the start of the technique, through the pinnacle of the knee raise, then I quickly turn it into what we call a hook kick, where the hooking motion is on a 45 degree angle with the ground. With my hips, it is probably the most difficult technique for me to execute, so I rarely try to throw them correctly. If I am practicing the form, I just throw them as standard outside crescent kicks.
Finally sword hand strike is very different from knife hand strike. It has a different delivery path (where a knife hand strike snaps at the end, a sword hand turns while in execution). A sword hand is for gouging the eyes, and should finish in reference to your body where a block ends. Many students over extend their sword hands out to a 45 degree angle (from their center line) for dramatic effect. This is wrong. It should end where a block would end, just outside the front foot.
That's it when it comes to Ko-Dang. If you are a CTF student and reading this, the terminology might be a little off, but the execution should be expected to be the same. If you are not CTF, the terminology might be as alien as the execution methods I discuss. I have a video of my Ko-Dang from my 4th dan test that I am not terribly disappointed in (there were clearly things I could have done better). I'd be happy to post it for you if you'd like.
Ko-Dang's opening movements are eclectic. You start with a backwards step to a 45 degree angle and execute a tension palm hand. Two things that can be challenging to do correctly by themselves, and together usually pose a difficult challenge. Then you speed up and execute the next two moves quickly (shift to fighting stance, then inner forearm block / down block simultaneously).
Care needs to be taken here to find the correct cadence. I find that the theme to this form is body control, both subtle body control and gross body control. This is an example of subtle body control because the step backwards and slow tension palm can be difficult to show proper timing on, and then the speed up usually leads to a sloppy execution for the inexperienced. A special note of attention needs to be placed on the 45 degree angle as well. Over step and your shift to the back stance won't travel very far and will look unnecessary, however having too short of an angle will make you look like your straddle stance early is facing front, which would be incorrect.
The next segment of the form sees you perform some one legged stances, side kicks to the 180 degree behind you with a landing and a block opposite of the kick on the opposite 180 degree center line (if you know the form you'll get this). This is clearly where gross body control is going to be key. You need to come up to the one leg stance and find stillness with your double down blocks. You need to execute the backwards side kick, with good body control, because the landing has you executing a single knife hand block in front of you.
Students will botch this time and time again, they will bleed the one leg stance and the kick together, they will then improperly rechamber the side kick or lose balance and execute what I call a "magic block" (a block that is not actually thrown but just appears where it is supposed to be.) Yes the concept of fighting an imaginary opponent is important, but not at the cost of turning your form into slop, and the bottom line is that if you rush this segment, you will likely not execute with the proper amount of power required for what is essentially basic technique performed with complexity. Take your time, execute one move at a time, with stillness of technique the focus point and you'll make this look good. Also, for the love of god, don't try to kick higher than you can kick here. You are already on one leg, so you have no momentum to help you rise the kick. Just throw good, side kicks mid, to low if you have to, so you have the proper body control and it will look good, even without world championship 20 year old flexibility.
Next we have two downward elbow blocks. It is important to remember that all techniques in TKD are supposed to have a reaction force hand. You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) how many people just use one hand and keep the other glued to the hip on this.
The form gets a bit easier for now. There's a series of pressing blocks, a series of downward forearm blocks and a series of cat stance scooping blocks. These are all individual techniques and the only real challenge is stance length when you step backwards as this could affect your ending position.
From here you come into another sequence of multiple hand movements and stance shifts. Starting with a front kick from a cat stance and landing in a front stance with twin inside knife hand strikes, you then chamber for single knife hand high block, then shift to back stance for knife hand block low section finishing with a shift to downward punch returning to a front stance.
Again, it is important to note that although these sections are to be done quickly, speed should not trump stance definition, timing, and stillness of technique. Also, the downward punch is a source of much confusion. The way I learned it, your torso should lean forward slightly and the punch goes straight down. Some people will bend all the way over, where their torso is parallel to the ground. I find this ridiculous, for many reasons, but your school or style may have a plausible reason for that so do check in with your instructor on that.
The next move is (I believe) a middle knuckle upset punch. I never remember if it is middle knuckle or not. I perform it so, but it might just be upset punch. I know I could have looked that up, and stated it as fact, but I opted with an authentic write up, instead of a curated one.
As stated by many of the posters in The Study of Tae Kwon Do, the last two kicks are meant to be blocks. I think of them as a cross between an outside crescent kick (at the start of the technique, through the pinnacle of the knee raise, then I quickly turn it into what we call a hook kick, where the hooking motion is on a 45 degree angle with the ground. With my hips, it is probably the most difficult technique for me to execute, so I rarely try to throw them correctly. If I am practicing the form, I just throw them as standard outside crescent kicks.
Finally sword hand strike is very different from knife hand strike. It has a different delivery path (where a knife hand strike snaps at the end, a sword hand turns while in execution). A sword hand is for gouging the eyes, and should finish in reference to your body where a block ends. Many students over extend their sword hands out to a 45 degree angle (from their center line) for dramatic effect. This is wrong. It should end where a block would end, just outside the front foot.
That's it when it comes to Ko-Dang. If you are a CTF student and reading this, the terminology might be a little off, but the execution should be expected to be the same. If you are not CTF, the terminology might be as alien as the execution methods I discuss. I have a video of my Ko-Dang from my 4th dan test that I am not terribly disappointed in (there were clearly things I could have done better). I'd be happy to post it for you if you'd like.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
On Tournament Forms Training
I recently took on some tournament training responsibilities. Although only a minor player in training people for forms competition, I ran a class last night and wanted to put my ideas on paper for people to read after the fact as the class was short and the concepts were large.
I'm going to make an assumption here, and one that is not always true. That assumption is that you train for a tournament and you enter to win. This assumption is not always true and I recognize that. Tournaments can be used to stress test your forms, or could be a way to overcome performance obstacles. In this post though, I'm going to assume the person reading is someone who wants to train hard, and has a goal to place.
I am also assuming you are competing in traditional tournaments, not necessarily in open or sports karate tournaments. Those competitions have rules, but they also have norms that require training well beyond the things I'm focusing on in this post. It is not that these ideas won't help in open or sports karate, but you'll need to do more to succeed at those venues.
Form Selection
First and foremost, you always pick a form that you look good doing. If you compete in the AAU, like we do, you pick a form in your group that you look good doing. If you don't look good doing any form, you should pick a form that you can eventually look good doing. Using myself as an example, with my hips, I'll never look good doing Moon-Moo. As much as I'd like to be able to put my leg out over my head and hold it there, and move it around slow - it's not going to happen, so that is not a form I would ever consider doing in competition. My strength is in upper body techniques so I would pick a form that features a dynamic range of upper body movements.
Your highest form might seem like a great candidate but you should be careful. Your highest form is the form you have done the least amount of times. While that shouldn't necessarily disqualify it from selection, the time you have to train and the time between when you pick the form and when the tournament is, should factor in. Ask yourself if there is enough time to get not only a strong handle on the form, but also to make the refinements that are necessary to win on a form that is relatively new. Finally be true to yourself, what you want isn't as important as what you can realistically accomplish.
The form you pick should also be appropriate for your level. A red belt isn't going to score very high if they trot out Chon-Ji.
Once you have selected a form that you look good doing that is appropriate for your skill level, it is time to begin.
Physical Training Method
I want your training to take on a layered approach. On the macro level, practice the entire form slow or smooth. Concentrate on solidifying the memorization of the movements in general, and focus on where every technique should start and finish. Don't apply a great deal of power at this stage. Focus on the fundamentals. Good timing, and good stance definition are born at this level of training.
After three of four reps of smoothness, begin to work on the micro level of the form. This is by far and away, the most boring aspect to training for a tournament, but also, is the single most effective way to get very precise with execution.
If good foundations of stances and timing are born in the macro level; power, intensity, execution, timing and stances will all come to their own at this micro level. I've heard it called by many names over the years: segments, chunking, parts; it is all the same thing though. Take 4-5 movements of your form, and work on them over and over again. Do not move on, until that segment is perfect, and then do not just pick the next 4-5 moves, but encorporate the previous two or three moves, so your transition in segments is natural.
You may not have to stay on the same segment for too long, or you may find yourself staying on a segment for a very long time. Either way, this method strengthens you in two ways. When you work a full form, you only have one chance to work on the movements you are weakest on once. You do that portion of the form, and you move on. By focusing on a segment that you are weaker at, you get more reps in a row and more chances to fix any issues while they are fresh. You can focus on the issue, clearly identify it, and eliminate it. Segmenting also helps you solidify your strengths or make your strengths even stronger, for the same reason. Simply stated working on a section over and over, outside of the full form gives you more chances to do that segment right.
A major difficulty when doing segment training is walking away from the training too fast. Nothing can feel as tedious as doing the same four moves over and over, and if you aren't that good at the movements, it can test your endurance to frustration as well. In time though, with the dedication and perseverance of a martial artist, this training will often yield great results. I found that all of my forms got better when I focused hard on specific segments. It makes sense, that is the whole purpose of forms in the first place.
Mental Training Method
I find training your mind is just as important as the physical side of your training. My mental training starts with a silent promise I make to myself (or to my instructor). That promise is that I am going to eliminate at least one mistake or shortcoming every time I practice. So, if I have 5-10 real issues in a form, every session I want that number to go down by one. Dedication to this progression of improvement will yield fast results. Once deficiencies are eliminated, you start to pick strengths that you can do even better - applying the same formula to them. Every session, one strength becomes even stronger. It is an easy to understand concept, but can be very difficult to execute.
Another level of mental training is visualization. This comes in two forms for me. First, visualize the tournament itself. As you are preparing to start a form rep, visualize what the floor would look like (not the actual floor mind you, but the tournament "floor"). See the chaos that is X number of rings all going while you are about to compete. If you are a black belt, and the tournament you are preparing for stops for black belt competition, visualize that (sometimes) crushing silence that fills the floor. Savor it in your practice, and make it your friend, so that when you face it for real, it is not the "butterflies in stomach" inducing event that it so often is.
Finally, as you practice your form, visualize how you'd want to execute the form, as you are executing the form! By the time you step to ready on an actual tournament floor, you should know your form so well that you actually can visualize something other than the movement you are actually on. Go one step beyond and see the movement you want to do - not the movement you have to do.
I took 2nd place in a tournament once and all I did was the mental side of preparation I listed above. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper attitude and mental training. It is hard because TKD doesn't routinely lend itself to this type of training. Too often, it is more concerned with the physical how and not the mental how.
On Technique
Of course, all of this is great if your technique execution is already pretty good. If it isn't quite where you want it to be, fear not - segmenting is still the answer. While segmenting is great for refining already good technique, it is an even better way to go from mediocrity to proficiency. It is easy in forms to get lost in the "big picture". Segmenting is a way to take the pressure of the form off your back and allow you to really focus on the individual movements. With good instruction around you it's a highly effective way to bring your basic execution up to par.
If segmenting proves ineffective, just segment some more. You may have to work just two moves, or even just one. Refining it, and then building up. I've been working the reverse crescent kicks from Tong-il, and had to actually break it down to the individual movements. It is ok, sometimes it is a necessary step.
Putting it All Together
Once you have segmented and the form looks the way you want it to in pieces, you start putting it together. You still don't want to go all out though. A very good instructor once told me that you want to spend most of your practice times around 80% full execution. As you approach the tournament you ramp it up until you are practicing for a short period of time at 100%. Right before the tournament you drop it back down even lower, to let your muscles time to heal up which is where strength is developed. This keeps you fresh and ready to achieve maximum performance on the day of your competition. If you are frequently sore after class, this is a highly effective way to be at your best the day of the tournament.
Final Thoughts
I can't take credit for these methods and I certainly didn't invent them. Everything you read here is a combination of things other other martial artists in our school shared with me over time. Although the number of forms competitions I have competed in barely reaches double digits, I placed in every single one of them, and took home my fair share of first place trophies. The people who shared their art with me, well, their lists speak for themselves. Some of the instructors I have borrowed these ideas from have gone years without taking less than 1st place in tournaments. Some went on to compete in world championship level events and others are legends of our school. The bottom line: these methods are highly effective. I look back fondly on my short time as a forms competitor and I have these lessons and the people who shared them with me to thank for that. Train hard, train smart and you will achieve your tournament goals.
I'm going to make an assumption here, and one that is not always true. That assumption is that you train for a tournament and you enter to win. This assumption is not always true and I recognize that. Tournaments can be used to stress test your forms, or could be a way to overcome performance obstacles. In this post though, I'm going to assume the person reading is someone who wants to train hard, and has a goal to place.
I am also assuming you are competing in traditional tournaments, not necessarily in open or sports karate tournaments. Those competitions have rules, but they also have norms that require training well beyond the things I'm focusing on in this post. It is not that these ideas won't help in open or sports karate, but you'll need to do more to succeed at those venues.
Form Selection
First and foremost, you always pick a form that you look good doing. If you compete in the AAU, like we do, you pick a form in your group that you look good doing. If you don't look good doing any form, you should pick a form that you can eventually look good doing. Using myself as an example, with my hips, I'll never look good doing Moon-Moo. As much as I'd like to be able to put my leg out over my head and hold it there, and move it around slow - it's not going to happen, so that is not a form I would ever consider doing in competition. My strength is in upper body techniques so I would pick a form that features a dynamic range of upper body movements.
Your highest form might seem like a great candidate but you should be careful. Your highest form is the form you have done the least amount of times. While that shouldn't necessarily disqualify it from selection, the time you have to train and the time between when you pick the form and when the tournament is, should factor in. Ask yourself if there is enough time to get not only a strong handle on the form, but also to make the refinements that are necessary to win on a form that is relatively new. Finally be true to yourself, what you want isn't as important as what you can realistically accomplish.
The form you pick should also be appropriate for your level. A red belt isn't going to score very high if they trot out Chon-Ji.
Once you have selected a form that you look good doing that is appropriate for your skill level, it is time to begin.
Physical Training Method
I want your training to take on a layered approach. On the macro level, practice the entire form slow or smooth. Concentrate on solidifying the memorization of the movements in general, and focus on where every technique should start and finish. Don't apply a great deal of power at this stage. Focus on the fundamentals. Good timing, and good stance definition are born at this level of training.
After three of four reps of smoothness, begin to work on the micro level of the form. This is by far and away, the most boring aspect to training for a tournament, but also, is the single most effective way to get very precise with execution.
If good foundations of stances and timing are born in the macro level; power, intensity, execution, timing and stances will all come to their own at this micro level. I've heard it called by many names over the years: segments, chunking, parts; it is all the same thing though. Take 4-5 movements of your form, and work on them over and over again. Do not move on, until that segment is perfect, and then do not just pick the next 4-5 moves, but encorporate the previous two or three moves, so your transition in segments is natural.
You may not have to stay on the same segment for too long, or you may find yourself staying on a segment for a very long time. Either way, this method strengthens you in two ways. When you work a full form, you only have one chance to work on the movements you are weakest on once. You do that portion of the form, and you move on. By focusing on a segment that you are weaker at, you get more reps in a row and more chances to fix any issues while they are fresh. You can focus on the issue, clearly identify it, and eliminate it. Segmenting also helps you solidify your strengths or make your strengths even stronger, for the same reason. Simply stated working on a section over and over, outside of the full form gives you more chances to do that segment right.
A major difficulty when doing segment training is walking away from the training too fast. Nothing can feel as tedious as doing the same four moves over and over, and if you aren't that good at the movements, it can test your endurance to frustration as well. In time though, with the dedication and perseverance of a martial artist, this training will often yield great results. I found that all of my forms got better when I focused hard on specific segments. It makes sense, that is the whole purpose of forms in the first place.
Mental Training Method
I find training your mind is just as important as the physical side of your training. My mental training starts with a silent promise I make to myself (or to my instructor). That promise is that I am going to eliminate at least one mistake or shortcoming every time I practice. So, if I have 5-10 real issues in a form, every session I want that number to go down by one. Dedication to this progression of improvement will yield fast results. Once deficiencies are eliminated, you start to pick strengths that you can do even better - applying the same formula to them. Every session, one strength becomes even stronger. It is an easy to understand concept, but can be very difficult to execute.
Another level of mental training is visualization. This comes in two forms for me. First, visualize the tournament itself. As you are preparing to start a form rep, visualize what the floor would look like (not the actual floor mind you, but the tournament "floor"). See the chaos that is X number of rings all going while you are about to compete. If you are a black belt, and the tournament you are preparing for stops for black belt competition, visualize that (sometimes) crushing silence that fills the floor. Savor it in your practice, and make it your friend, so that when you face it for real, it is not the "butterflies in stomach" inducing event that it so often is.
Finally, as you practice your form, visualize how you'd want to execute the form, as you are executing the form! By the time you step to ready on an actual tournament floor, you should know your form so well that you actually can visualize something other than the movement you are actually on. Go one step beyond and see the movement you want to do - not the movement you have to do.
I took 2nd place in a tournament once and all I did was the mental side of preparation I listed above. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper attitude and mental training. It is hard because TKD doesn't routinely lend itself to this type of training. Too often, it is more concerned with the physical how and not the mental how.
On Technique
Of course, all of this is great if your technique execution is already pretty good. If it isn't quite where you want it to be, fear not - segmenting is still the answer. While segmenting is great for refining already good technique, it is an even better way to go from mediocrity to proficiency. It is easy in forms to get lost in the "big picture". Segmenting is a way to take the pressure of the form off your back and allow you to really focus on the individual movements. With good instruction around you it's a highly effective way to bring your basic execution up to par.
If segmenting proves ineffective, just segment some more. You may have to work just two moves, or even just one. Refining it, and then building up. I've been working the reverse crescent kicks from Tong-il, and had to actually break it down to the individual movements. It is ok, sometimes it is a necessary step.
Putting it All Together
Once you have segmented and the form looks the way you want it to in pieces, you start putting it together. You still don't want to go all out though. A very good instructor once told me that you want to spend most of your practice times around 80% full execution. As you approach the tournament you ramp it up until you are practicing for a short period of time at 100%. Right before the tournament you drop it back down even lower, to let your muscles time to heal up which is where strength is developed. This keeps you fresh and ready to achieve maximum performance on the day of your competition. If you are frequently sore after class, this is a highly effective way to be at your best the day of the tournament.
Final Thoughts
I can't take credit for these methods and I certainly didn't invent them. Everything you read here is a combination of things other other martial artists in our school shared with me over time. Although the number of forms competitions I have competed in barely reaches double digits, I placed in every single one of them, and took home my fair share of first place trophies. The people who shared their art with me, well, their lists speak for themselves. Some of the instructors I have borrowed these ideas from have gone years without taking less than 1st place in tournaments. Some went on to compete in world championship level events and others are legends of our school. The bottom line: these methods are highly effective. I look back fondly on my short time as a forms competitor and I have these lessons and the people who shared them with me to thank for that. Train hard, train smart and you will achieve your tournament goals.
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